James MacLeod
James MacLeod is a character in Brink mentioned in only the audio logs that can be unlocked in the dossier. In them he gives his account of reaching The Ark just as Habib does. The audio logs begin with MacLeod admitting he isn't entirely sure why he's doing the audio log, but feels that he needs to keep a record. He starts with stating that the changes to the outside world after the floods were subtle and slow, and part of the madness probably sprouted up because everyone assumed everything would return to normal, but the sea water contaminated everything and made everything virtually inhabitable, and it was too late to fix it by the time that everyone realised it wasn't going to return on its own. People realised that the best land was in the water now, and that crops would fail. He also states here that everyone thought about The Ark as this haven where safe and wonderful and bountiful land lied floating on the ocean, and everyone was concerned with it. He also states however that to him and many others, The Ark was on par with a UFO sighting, that people believed it exists, but nobody could find it, and that The Ark wanted it that way. MacLeod admits that the outside world delved into a mess of chaos and despair as economies collapsed and people began looting nonstop, and saw people do whatever was needed. He notes that a lot of the viciousness stemmed from a large lack of resources and many people trying to feed their children and fighting, but MacLeod had no family to speak of and had to look after himself. His tone implies that while he does feel somewhat bad, the event left him desensitised and he doesn't regret his behavior. MacLeod then goes on to detail that he managed to get aboard a vessel aimed at locating The Ark without knowing at first, just that "someone who he could trust and could handle himself in a tussle" would be beneficial on whatever job he intended. He gets on the deck and talks about many ships would return without their load, but his tone implies that none of them really found The Ark, that their ship had a decent notion where The Ark was and that the ship he was riding had a better way about itself than the others. Macleod used his survival instincts to conserve his energy and as a result his hydration and nourishment. If anyone began getting too annoying or dangerous, he would, as it is implied, hit them, but never had to kill any of the passengers, and stated this was easy because while they exhausted themselves running around he would relax in shade and conserve energy. He tried in general to stay out of trouble. When The Ark is spotted, he notes the first thing he thought was that the buoys were a sign of hope, and that The Ark itself was huge. As they got into range however, the Security were pointing guns at the ship, and someone dropped some object that sounded like a clang, resembling a gunshot, and that caused the Security to open fire, which was worsened as the guests onboard ran about and making a ruckus. Macleod himself kept his head low, grabbed some people, knocking them out implied as well, and staying out of fire. In the end he looks up after it's all over and notices a large black "saffy" as him calls him, who turns out to be General Mokoena, who looks down at Macleod and asks him what he is doing. Macleod then transitions his story to being sworn in and taking a medical examination, and is now part of the Security force. His ending line is "New mob, same job. Cushty." His accent and part of his slang indicates that Macleod is Scottish or Irish decent, potentially from the UK or Ireland, as he speaks in some Scottish or Irish English accent and slang, but does not have a Western or American accent like many of the other characters. Category:Security